ToI’s weekly deep dive: Hostage bodies hidden under Gazan rug * Empty paradise in Sinai * World Biodiversity Day * Podcast: Rav Perez on life after news of son’s death

[Times of Israel]( [Weekly Deep Dive]( Sunday, May 26, 2024 Reporter's notebook [Under a rug in Gazan home, IDF troops found shaft leading to bodies of 4 hostages]( By Lazar Berman The Times of Israel joins paratroopers fighting in the heart of Jabaliya’s refugee camp, where a determined officer made a sad but profound discovery — days before he was killed Op-ed David Horovitz [A fateful road not taken: Netanyahu seems set to spurn Saudi normalization]( A deal would bolster coalition against Iran, could create viable alternative to Hamas in Gaza * Plus: Khan’s rush to injustice, Egypt’s failed mediation, and Ben Gvir’s brutality Hague [ICJ orders Israel to halt Rafah operations that risk destruction of civilian population]( By Jeremy Sharon and Sam Sokol Four of the 15 judges argue ruling does not require that Israel halt entire Rafah campaign if it ensures it’s complying with the Genocide Convention; South African judge disagrees [ToI podcast / Daily Briefing May 25: Day 232 – ICJ order to ‘halt’ IDF depends on how it’s parsed]( By ToI Staff [ToI podcast / Daily Briefing May 26: Day 233 – After ICJ ruling, Rafah op continues unabated]( By ToI Staff ICC [New study finds food supply to Gaza more than sufficient for population’s needs]( By Jeremy Sharon Food delivered through crossings ‘provided for a mean of 3,163 calories per person per day’ for Gazans, 40% higher than the accepted humanitarian standard for daily calorie intake [Inside story / Does ICC Prosecutor Khan have a case against Netanyahu and Gallant? Experts doubt it]( By Jeremy Sharon [Request for arrest warrants from ICC is ‘blood libel,’ says ex-Supreme Court justice]( By Jeremy Sharon Interview [Norway’s FM: Palestine recognition is an ‘anti-Hamas’ step, pushes two-state vision]( By Lazar Berman Speaking to The Times of Israel, Espen Barth Eide acknowledges move won’t create a state; says it is partly a reaction to Netanyahu policies, but will also weaken Hamas and Iran [Analysis / Despite threats, Egypt is not about to tear up peace treaty with Israel]( By Lazar Berman [Analysis / Raisi’s death doesn’t change Iranian policy, but will spark fight for power]( By Lazar Berman Reporter's notebook [In Ramallah, Palestinians welcome recognition by 3 countries with cautious optimism]( By Gianluca Pacchiani [Those We Are Missing]( [The hostages and victims whose fate is still unknown]( [Read Here]( Antisemitism [Jewish activist who fled Iran sees shades of the fall of the shah on US campuses]( By Jordana Horn I Am A Voter co-founder and pro-democracy advocate Mandana Dayani has turned her focus to America’s surging antisemitism – an issue she sees as inalienable from her core mission [Like early 1930s: US envoy warns antisemitism ‘a threat to democracy,’ global security]( By Jacob Magid [Interview / Retiring early due to antisemitism, a professor paints a dire picture of US academia]( By Cathryn J. Prince Analysis Canaan Lidor [The anti-Muslim, pro-Israel far right now runs Holland. Is the European Parliament next?]( Upcoming elections for the EU’s legislature are expected to see gains by parties with ideologies feared by many Jews — even as they may be the community’s most ardent champions Top Ops Cochav Elkayam-Levy and Irwin Cotler [Kinocide: Hamas targeting of families is a new crime against humanity]( On October 7, Hamas committed atrocities deliberately targeting the family unit, a crime that is not defined in international law but should be Gary Rosenblatt [Counting on each otherÂ]( As we mark the days of The Omer, and the plight of the hostages, there are lofty and practical lessons to be learned. Melinda B. Thaler [Running while Jewish: London Marathon edition]( As I ran miles festooned by huge Palestinian flags, with no Union Jack in sight, I tensed up – until some runners and bystanders yelled: Am Yisrael Chai! Ali Deilami [The Ayatollah of execution: My memories of Ebrahim Raisi]( He became president in a sham election and was being groomed as the Islamic Republic’s next Supreme Leader. I won’t miss him Reporter's Notebook [Barred from Meron, Jewish worshipers mark Lag B’Omer at flashpoint East Jerusalem site]( By Charlie Summers Thousands crowd into venue outside Shimon HaTzadik tomb as police lock down tense Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood; Sephardi chief rabbi lights fire, speaks before enthused audience [Fearing Hezbollah in north, state moves Lag B’Omer event to East Jerusalem flashpoint]( By Canaan Lidor Environment [World Biodiversity Day report: Israel’s butterflies, birds, reptiles in serious decline]( By Sue Surkes Israel’s habitat loss and fragmentation, pollution, invasive species, overexploitation of natural resources and rising temperatures blamed in 2023 State of Nature review [Deadly pathogen that wiped out Eilat’s sea urchins reaches Indian Ocean]( By Sue Surkes [Inside the plan to turn Haifa’s befouled bay into a livable urban hub rivaling Tel Aviv]( By Sue Surkes [Those We Have Lost]( [Those We Have Lost]( [Stories of civilians and soldiers killed in Hamas's onslaught on Israel]( [Read Here]( [Matisyahu, Idan Raichel headline MIT concert for post-October 7 Jewish unity and joy]( By Rich Tenorio Top Israeli and US artists including Five for Fighting flock to May 16’s ‘We Will Dance Again,’ attended by nearly 1,500 in a show of resilience amid widespread adversity ToI podcast [What Matters Now to Rav Doron Perez: Life after his hostage son’s death]( By ToI Staff [Aharona Sadan / Uprooted: Aharona Sadan, 77, from Kibbutz Dafna. This is her story]( By Tamar Mor Sela [Cafe Otef begins pop-up project, where displaced southern residents can feel at home]( By Jessica Steinberg [Dilemmas abound as school system works to help students process Oct. 7 and horrors of war]( By Gavriel Fiske Interview [Novelist John Irving cancels long-awaited Israel visit due to COVID-19]( By Jessica Steinberg Author was coming for the Jerusalem Writers Festival and to work on the final chapter of his latest book, ‘Queen Esther,’ set in 1980s Jerusalem [Jewish American widower channels post-Oct. 7 Israeli grief in new film]( By Jessica Steinberg Reporter's notebook [Paradise lost? Sinai, once teeming with Israeli tourists, is deserted amid Gaza war]( By Gianluca Pacchiani Very few Israelis venture into neighboring Egypt out of safety concerns or in boycott of the country, but those who dare will experience a Sinai of yesteryear Archaeology [Using burnt seeds from 1st Temple era, Israeli researchers tame a vexing dating enigma]( By Gavriel Fiske A team of scholars recently used a new method to conquer the Hallstatt plateau, an abiding Iron Age puzzle, and help reveal the timeline of ancient Jerusalem. Here’s how they did it [Archaeology / Jezreel Valley graves cast light on waning Canaanite cities, waxing Israelite monarchy]( By Gavriel Fiske [Archaeology / Pilgrims’ first stop: 1,500-year-old Byzantine-era ship etchings found at Negev church]( By Gavriel Fiske Interview [How Texas A&M Aggies’s Sam Salz became college football’s first known Orthodox player]( By Cathryn J. Prince From the Blogs [At the protest with a kippa]( By Avidan Freedman From disbelief to anger, my headwear got a rise outside the Knesset, but there are far less appropriate places to wear a yarmulke [Weekly Deep Dive]( [facebook]( [twitter]( [instagram]( [View in browser]( [Contact support](mailto:support@timesofisrael.com) [Advertise with us](mailto:advertise@timesofisrael.com) Were you forwarded this email? [Subscribe here]( [Unsubscribe]( from this List © 2024 The Times Of Israel, All Rights Reserved